Lin Tian listened to Zhao Cang's explanation.
He finally understood the connection between the Cultivation Technique and his own blood and qi.
In other words, practicing martial arts was still about accumulating blood and qi.
It was just that this accumulation had to be achieved through a Cultivation Technique.
And because martial artists could not accurately sense their own blood and qi,
they needed some standard to measure it by.
A Cultivation Technique happened to serve as just such a standard.
But another question arose in Lin Tian's mind.
If a martial artist's realm was tied to the realm of their Cultivation Technique,
did advancing that technique also require blood and qi to support it?
Upon hearing Lin Tian's question,
Zhao Cang answered at once. "No. How far you can cultivate a Cultivation Technique depends entirely on your own comprehension. It has nothing to do with a martial artist's blood and qi."
"The only connection is that blood and qi determine the technique's power."
"Take the nine echoes of the Mountain-Shaking Fist. At minor mastery, you can produce three echoes; at major mastery, six; and at perfection, nine."
"If your comprehension is strong enough, you could even cultivate it to nine echoes before your first attempt to break through."
"But your blood and qi might only be enough to produce three."
"Of course, if you truly reached nine echoes by the time of your first breakthrough attempt,"
"what that signifies would be another matter entirely."
As Zhao Cang spoke, he seemed to recall something.
A few images suddenly flashed through his mind.
But after a moment, he shook his head softly again.
Then he said solemnly to Lin Tian, "But on the Martial Way, your own cultivation realm is what matters most, and nothing is more dangerous than reaching beyond your grasp."
"I've seen plenty of people chase mastery of a Cultivation Technique, only to miss the best years for martial training and waste their lives."
"Geniuses are rare in this world. For someone like you... for ordinary people, it's best to keep your feet on the ground."
Hearing this,
Lin Tian knew what Zhao Cang had almost said.
It was no different from what Zhang Cui had told him before.
Someone like him
shouldn't dream of things beyond his reach.
Of course, Lin Tian said nothing more.
He simply nodded. "This disciple will heed your teachings."
Zhao Cang nodded in satisfaction.
"Mm. Good."
"Next, I'll teach you how to practice the Mountain-Shaking Fist. Pay close attention, and ask if there's anything you don't understand."
After that, under Zhao Cang's guidance,
Lin Tian began practicing the Mountain-Shaking Fist's moves and key principles over and over.
As time passed,
the Martial Academy's other disciples arrived in twos and threes.
They first gave the newcomer, Lin Tian, a curious once-over,
then went off to practice on their own.
Under Zhao Cang's instruction,
Lin Tian eventually grasped all the essentials he needed to practice.
Only then did Zhao Cang rise and say, "Now that you've grasped the essentials, you can practice on your own."
"But you must build a solid foundation early in your martial training, so I'll train with you every morning for the next few days."
"You can also come to me whenever you need help with something you don't understand."
With that, Zhao Cang left without lingering and headed straight for the Inner Academy.
After he was gone,
quite a few disciples in the Outer Academy turned to look at Lin Tian.
Their gazes held different emotions.
Some were curious, intrigued by the newcomer, but most were sizing him up.
Especially when Lin Tian clumsily stumbled through a move,
several disciples even mimicked him with their hands,
striking the same awkward pose.
Their lips curled with the smug superiority of seasoned practitioners looking down on a novice.
Lin Tian ignored their stares entirely.
He simply immersed himself in his own world.
When he finished another complete sequence,
the Fate Grid in his mind lit up again.
Fate Grid · Learning Leads to Success Mountain-Shaking Fist experience +5 Mountain-Shaking Fist (minor mastery) 7/100
Seeing the Mountain-Shaking Fist experience change again on the panel,
Lin Tian was dumbfounded.
Why?
Well, he didn't know how quickly anyone else learned the Mountain-Shaking Fist,
but he knew his own speed was fast!
Far beyond merely fast!
After all, from the moment he began practicing the Mountain-Shaking Fist,
from truly grasping its moves to performing a complete sequence on his own,
he had only gone through the full sequence twice.
Yet his experience was already nearly one-tenth of the way there?
What did that mean?
It meant that at most, another twenty repetitions would bring his fist technique to minor mastery.
Then he could make his first attempt to break through to Bright Force?
This Fate Grid of mine... is it actually that powerful?
Zhao Cang had also told him earlier
a little about that first breakthrough attempt to Bright Force.
It all came down to one saying.
Bright Force was the beginning of the Martial Way, yet only two or three in ten attained it.
The meaning was simple.
Bright Force marked the start of the Martial Way, its first realm.
It was also the realm reached after the first breakthrough on the Martial Way.
The most important first step on the entire Martial Way!
And that hurdle was known as the gate of life and death.
Because each person had only one chance to cross it!
Succeed, and the gates of the Martial Way would open wide!
Fail, and you would go no further, unable to advance an inch for the rest of your life!
Only by entering Bright Force could one truly be counted among practitioners of the Martial Way.
And that single step had stopped countless people.
All because of the latter half of that saying.
Only two or three in ten attained it!
Those words made the odds of reaching Bright Force plain.
Of course, Lin Tian also knew that the supposed twenty-to-thirty-percent chance
was probably even lower
for someone as poor as him, who could barely afford to eat...
But that was not something he needed to worry about now.
He had not even reached the threshold for a breakthrough.
So he set his stance once more and resumed practicing.
The people around him still watched him with the same faintly superior looks.
Among people struggling at the bottom like them,
there was nothing they enjoyed seeing more than someone else struggle.
In the crowd,
one particularly boisterous disciple suddenly called out, "Hey, here it comes! Ha, he's about to show us that ridiculous White Ape Gazing at the Moon again. You should've seen the pose he struck earlier. I swear you'd laugh every time!"
Several disciples beside him wore scornful smiles as well.
They were clearly a little clique,
and the speaker seemed to be its leader.
He was standing close enough for Lin Tian to hear every word.
But the movements of Lin Tian's hands
did not stop because of a few remarks.
As someone who had truly struggled at the bottom,
the first thing he had learned
was not to care about the strange looks others gave him.
Before he had grown strong, those looks meant nothing.
Lin Tian took up his stance again.
When he reached White Ape Gazing at the Moon,
the group burst into mocking laughter once more.
Lin Tian paid them no mind.
After finishing that round,
he began a second, a third, then a fourth.
His movements grew faster and faster.
He acted as though he could not hear the mockery around him.
Lin Tian did glance at them from the corner of his eye.
What was wrong with these people?
Especially that leader.
He was clearly about my age,
yet he already had the swagger of a street thug.
And when they saw their laughter failed to rattle Lin Tian,
they seemed to take it as a challenge.
They actually stayed there watching instead of going to practice?
Lin Tian paid it little mind.
Their eyes were their own.
If they wanted to watch him,
was he supposed to make them turn their heads away?
As Lin Tian suspected, those disciples
really did keep hanging around him.
The leader, in particular,
looked at Lin Tian differently now.
To someone who had been used to throwing his weight around his village since childhood,
Lin Tian's stubbornness
was practically an act of defiance.
Worse, it made him lose face in front of his little clique.
Let's see how long a dirt-poor nobody like you can keep this up!
He was certain he had Lin Tian all figured out.
The shabby clothes Lin Tian wore
made it obvious his family was desperately poor.
Someone from that kind of background was bound to feel deeply inferior.
He was convinced that a few more jeering laughs
would be enough to break Lin Tian!
Of course, he had a reason for acting this way.
To him, people from humble families like Lin Tian's...
The easiest kind to tame into a loyal dog of his own!
Never underestimate a dirt-poor peasant.
He knew very well that once people like that were brought to heel, they became the most loyal dogs!
They would obey his every word.
At the crucial moment, he could even throw them out to shield himself from disaster!
Heh. In a way, a wretch like this was a rare find.
He already had a plan in mind.
First, he would deal the boy a blow and instill an unspoken awe of him.
Put plainly, he would brand the boy with an invisible master-and-servant contract.
It was rather like training a hawk.
There was a difference, of course.
The peasant before him was even more servile than a hawk.
One blow would be enough.
Once that mark was made,
an absolute hierarchy would stand between him and the peasant.
From then on, the boy would lower his eyes and bow his head whenever he saw him.
After that, he would only need to offer a sweet date at the right moment.
Then the taming would be complete.
And all he needed to do now was deal the boy one blow, and...
But before he could finish speaking,
Lin Tian had already begun his fifth round of the fist technique.
For some reason, the moment he saw Lin Tian's opening stance,
confusion flashed through his eyes.
Perhaps he had been too focused on putting the boy down
to notice the changes in Lin Tian's movements and posture.
But as Lin Tian continued through the technique,
he was dumbstruck.
This time, from his stance to the smallest details, Lin Tian's movements
were flawless?!
Lin Tian flowed from one posture to the next like drifting clouds and running water.
He was even performing better than a disciple who had entered the academy a whole month before him??
"What... what's going on? How... how did his fist technique improve so quickly?!"
The onlookers also noticed the change in Lin Tian's moves.
Shock and bewilderment spread across their faces!
This... this...
Lin Tian paid no attention to the stunned group in the distance.
After quickly finishing the round,
he looked at his panel again.
Mountain-Shaking Fist (minor mastery) 32/100
He studied the experience value.
Then Lin Tian considered how his understanding of the fist technique had changed.
Judging by his current mastery,
a sudden realization stirred in him.
He felt that if he went through it once more,
he might produce the first of the three sounds of minor mastery.
He soon began practicing again.
Before long, he had completed another full, flawless round before the onlookers.
They watched Lin Tian perform the entire technique perfectly for a second time,
and marveled once more.
There was no mistake. It had not been a coincidence!
His first flawless round had been no fluke.
He... he had truly mastered every movement and method of exerting force in the Mountain-Shaking Fist!!
How... how was that possible?!
Could this peasant really be a martial arts prodigy?!
An uneasy feeling rose in the leader's heart.
If the boy truly was a prodigy,
then what he had done earlier had undoubtedly landed him in terrible trouble!!
"Wait! Look! What's that kid trying to do? Th-that stance... Is he trying to produce the first sound?!"
The shout broke everyone's train of thought!
Especially the leader who had mocked Lin Tian first.
"What?! He can produce the first sound on his very first day at the Martial Academy?! How... how is that possible?!"
The boy seemed to realize something.
His face instantly turned several shades paler!!
He stared fixedly at Lin Tian ahead.
Lin Tian had already settled into a punching stance.
As he moved, his motions seemed to guide the blood and qi within him.
This...
While the boy was still reeling,
Lin Tian threw a punch.
A gust from his fist blasted outward, carrying beads of sweat with it.
Unfortunately, the punch produced only a gust.
It failed to sound the first note of the Mountain-Shaking Fist.
At the sight,
everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, if they had truly offended a martial arts prodigy,
the consequences
were more than any of them could bear.
Of course,
the group promptly scattered like startled birds and beasts, each returning to his own practice.
Though they had made up their minds,
they had seen Lin Tian master the Mountain-Shaking Fist completely after only five rounds.
That was a fact they had witnessed with their own eyes!
So even though Lin Tian had failed to produce the first sound,
none of them dared offend him now.
The leader left with the others.
Yet the arrogance returned to his eyes.
As he departed, he even gave a disdainful snort.
Lin Tian, meanwhile, looked at the fist he had just thrown.
He had undoubtedly produced
the first sound of the Mountain-Shaking Fist.
It was simply that the sound from his sinews and bones had been too faint,
so faint it had barely caused a ripple.
That was why the others had not noticed it.
Lin Tian had a rough idea why.
His foundation was insufficient.
Or rather, his blood and qi were insufficient.
He had the technique and the outward form of the required mastery,
but not the substance within.
And there was only one reason for that.
His body was too frail.
It simply could not support the burst of power the Mountain-Shaking Fist required!
Sure enough, the path of martial arts was not so simple...
"Junior Brother, your comprehension is remarkable. To grasp every essential point of the fist technique so quickly is no easy feat."
A voice came from nearby.
Lin Tian looked up.
An ordinary-looking young man with a steady bearing stood before him,
watching him with a smile.
Lin Tian gave him a puzzled look.
The disciple introduced himself. "You must be the new Junior Brother. I'm your Senior Brother, Zhang Ming."
"Lin Tian greets Senior Brother Zhang."
Lin Tian cupped his hands as he spoke.
"Heh, no need to be so formal, Junior Brother Lin. I watched you run through the Mountain-Shaking Fist just five times before you grasped it all. Your talent is truly enviable."
Zhang Ming had returned to the subject of Lin Tian's practice.
"It was all thanks to Master's excellent teaching. I was merely lucky."
Zhang Ming knew Lin Tian was being modest.
After all, he had practiced the Mountain-Shaking Fist himself.
How could anyone grasp certain movements and principles so quickly through rote memorization alone?
It naturally took talent.
Of course, Zhang Ming could tell Lin Tian did not want to dwell on it.
He would not press the matter.
"In that case, I won't disturb you any longer, Junior Brother."
With that, Zhang Ming headed straight toward the Inner Academy.
This time, it was Lin Tian's turn to be stunned by where he was going.
Zhang Ming was an Inner Academy disciple?
The Zhao Family Martial Academy was divided into two courtyards.
The Inner Academy and the Outer Academy.
The Outer Academy was nothing special. It housed new disciples like him.
The Inner Academy was different.
Every disciple there had broken through to Bright Force.
That meant Zhang Ming was, at the very least, a martial artist who had attained Bright Force.
The morning soon passed.
The disciples in the courtyard were exhausted. Some sat on the ground, while others lay sprawled across it.
It was time for the midday meal.
Many disciples took out the lunches they had brought.
The courtyard filled with the scents of different foods.
Most disciples in the Outer Academy came from poor families.
Their meals were mostly coarse grains and dry flatbread.
Those from better-off families had white-flour bread, and some even had meat.
The smell of meat in particular
made Lin Tian's body, drained by practice, feel hungrier than ever.
Just then,
a hand held out two white-flour steamed buns before him.
"Here, Junior Brother Lin."
Lin Tian looked up at once. It was Zhang Ming, who had spoken to him earlier.
"Senior Brother Zhang, what's this...?"
At the sight of the white-flour buns, Lin Tian swallowed twice without meaning to.
"Heh. Master prepared these for us academy disciples, so that those without enough food at home wouldn't go hungry and be unable to practice martial arts."
"I saw that this was your first day here, so I figured you weren't familiar with the place yet. I brought you two."
"Don't worry. They're covered by your tuition."
Lin Tian listened to her explanation.
Then he glanced at the two medium-sized steamed buns in front of him.
He took them at once.
He really was hungry.
Lin Tian swallowed both white-flour buns in a few bites.
After he finished eating,
Lin Tian did not rest for long.
He settled back into his boxing stance.
Lin Tian knew exactly what difficulties he faced.
Above all, the Shark Gang threatened his family.
And now that he possessed a Fate Grid, he could not possibly delay here.
But his actions
once again drew the attention of the people still eating and resting nearby.
"Hey, look! The newcomer seems pretty diligent. He's still practicing his punches now. Doesn't he ever get tired?"
"Heh. Looks to me like he's just putting on a show to get Master's attention."
"Hah! What a joke. Looks like the newcomer still doesn't understand."
"In this Martial Academy, thinking hard work alone will catch Master's eye is a joke."
"If you have no talent, why would Master spare you a glance?"
"This little performance is bound to be a joke. Let's just enjoy the act while we eat. Heh."
When the others heard that,
they all watched Lin Tian with peculiar smiles.
It was just as the man had said:
they treated Lin Tian like a performer putting on a show for them.
But just then,
a female disciple's voice came from the Inner Academy.
"Lin Tian, Master wants you to come to the Inner Academy."
"What?!"
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